ARTICLES

Batumi City Court continues discussion of the incident in the café-bar Elza in Batumi. Among 4 accused are Rati Milorava, underage son of Eka Beselia, leader of the political movement “For the United Georgi”, and her brother Sergo Beseliaa. They are accused for hooliganism and resistance to the policemen. The crime is punished by the imprisonment from 4 to 7 years. The incident happened in café-bar Elza in Batumi on August 19.

The Topuria case should be viewed as a key test of the progress that the Georgia is making toward reform of its judicial system. I urge your government to release all political prisoners and to work to ensure that Georgia moves toward a fair and independent judiciary.

News sources from the South Ossetian de-facto government described the visit of the Human Rights Commissionaire of the CoE Thomas Hammarberg to Tskhinvali in details. Among them the negotiation with the leader of the separatist government Eduard Kokoity… Tskhinvali media sources described the visit details based on initial sources.

On December 2, everybody hoped the one-month epopee of the adults kidnapped from Tirdznisi village will end in happy-end but decision of Ossetian separatists showed we have to wait for the happy-end for more ten days. However, we can speak about the conditional end because release of the children does not mean hatred has disappeared and nobody will be kidnapped in future.

President’s visit in Kutaisi caused serious resonance in the city on the same day. The water-drops leaking through the roof of Sarkisashvili’s family fell on Saakashvili’s head. .Nugsar Shamugia, the city mayor was strictly reprimanded in front of TV cameras.

On December 1, in front of the Cinema “Amirani” in Tbilisi journalists and human rights defenders organized a protest rally in support of newspaper “Batumelebi”. Demonstrators attended presentation of the film in the cinema and then joined the demonstration; they requested the representatives of the government and international organizations to react on the oppression and blackmailing of the newspaper.

Head of department for children’ rights and juvenile issues at the Kutaisi local government was fired for the fifth time already. Maguli Giorgadze appeals to the Kutaisi Prosecutor’s Office against the City Hall.

Draft-amendments to the Law on Police were submitted to the parliament last week by the initiative of the government. Explanatory letter of the draft-amendments states it aims to make the Law on Police more refined, to correct the law and to support the police system in future.

Most villages of Gori district get information from national TV-channels. People complain that TV-stations do not highlight local problems. Residents of the village of Dvani think journalists get interested about their problems only when somebody is kidnapped or something is exploded in the village.

Georgia has been celebrating the anniversary of Rose Revolution on St. George’s Holiday for 6 years already. The “government of roses” has been eagerly reminding people for six years that everything what has been done since the revolution was in sake of people. They claim that 6 years ago they liberated the country from corruption and turned it into a democratic state. For the government, November 23 is associated with economical progress, creation of new working places and development in general.

Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) continues to oppress the personnel of the newspaper Batumelebi. Now, the police tried to humiliate the name of Tedo Jorbenadze, the head of investigation group, in regard with the sexual orientation based on the stigma in Georgia.

In his interview to CNN on October 15 of 2009, the President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili stated that there were 27 independent channels in Georgia and more than one political talk show was on the air daily. In fact, there are even more channels in Georgia, though information on their actual owners is unavailable.

Based on Article 12 of the Organic Law of Georgia on Public Defender, the Public Defender started an independent investigation into the case related to the termination of peaceful assembly of the citizens Dachi Tsaguria, Djaba Djishkariani and Irakli Kordzaia in front of the Parliament building on 23 November of 2009 and their arbitrary detention.

On the initiative of Human Rights Center and the South Caucasus Network for Human Rights Defenders, a silent protest action was staged in front of the Parliament building. The South Caucasus Network defenders from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, the Human Rights House Foundation from Norway as well as other representatives of NGO community made a protest against the arbitrary detention of the activists of “7 November” movement by patrol police.

www.humanrigts.ge published a story about Ricardo from Natanebi village and it caused serious resonance. Generous people appeared who decided to assist nine-year-old child. Officials from the local authority also woke up and examined the situation of the family of Mikhaev’s once more. They promise before the New Year Ricardo will have his house reconstructed.

On November 20, family of Nika Gelashvili, who died during the collapse of the building of the “Star Academy” held protest demonstration in front of the building of the TV-Company “Rustavi 2’. The Gelashvilis protested the indifference of the TV-company to the accident and demanded to start new investigation of the fact.

“It is politically motivated court proceeding,” the people who attended the trial on the case of Eka Beselia’s son and brother assessed the process negatively. According to the investigation, they are accused in insulting and physical assault of person and in the resistance to the police. Victim Davit Japaridze did not attend the trial.

On November 19, the Human Rights Center represented new video-portal on human rights www.hridc.tv at the Art Café “Caravan”. The Human Rights Center also represtend the new film of Giorgi Janledize “Boring Up and Down” prepared by the TV-studio of the Center.

The situation is completely vague about the investigation launched in regard with the video-rolls which degrades the Patriarch of Georgia Ilia II. It is also obscure which article was used to start investigation; what was the status of the detainees who were interrogated and whether equipments are returned to the detainees who are already released and whether the investigation will continue or not.